In a joint statement, Viner and Pemsel said: “We are well on track with our three-year strategy to make the Guardian sustainable and break even at operating level by 2018/19.

“Thanks to outstanding collaborative work in the UK, US and Australia, we have finished the second year well ahead of our forecast.”

They said Guardian US and Guardian Australia are both on “sound financial footing”, adding: “We enter year three with the goal to break even, but we still face challenges and uncertainties.

“This unpredictability makes sensible financial and business planning more critical than ever, and so we are already beginning to look beyond the coming year and plan how we invest for the long-term future.”

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